Issues with our dear female system

Well as we all know that there a quit a few things that can go wrong with the female reproductive system, and I know that this is sometimes the last thing anyone wants to think about, but it’s unfortunately one of the things we deal with a women. Women may sometimes experience reproductive system problems. Obviously this is just mentioning a few, but I am very sure that I’m missing a whole lot of things, but some of them are:

• Vulvovaginitis, Painful swelling and redness (inflammation), it could be caused by irritating material (e.g. soaps or bubble baths). One of the things that could also contribute is poor personal hygiene, in the event where you wipe from back to front after a bowel movement… not a pleasant thought I know, but it happens.
• Ectopic pregnancy, Ectopic means “out of place”. With an ectopic pregnancy, a fertilized egg has implanted outside the uterus, the egg settles in the fallopian tubes in more than 95% of these pregnancies. It is also commonly called “tubal pregnancies”
• Endometriosis, well I think that this is the most popular one, because so many of us have been treated and operated for this. Anyway endometriosis is when tissue normally found only in the uterus starts to grow outside the uterus in the ovaries, fallopian tubes, or any other parts of the pelvic cavity.
• Varian cysts, this is normally noncancerous sacs which are filled with fluid or semi-solid materials. They are common and generally harmless, but could become a problem if they grow large.
• Polycystic ovary syndrome, abbreviated PCOS or PCO, is an endocrine disorder. According to all searches conducted the principal features are weight problems, lack of regular ovulation/menstruation, and excessive amount or effects of androgenic hormones, it is said that the causes are not really known, but insulin resistance, diabetes and obesity are all strongly correlated with PCOS.

Now we all know that there are also a large number of menstrual problems which can affect females, it is believed that some of the most common conditions are as follow:

• Dysmenorrhoea, this is when you have painful periods
• Menorrhagia, this is when you have a very heavy periods with excess bleeding.
• Oligomenorrhea, menstruation occurs at much longer intervals than normal or skipped

Some thoughts on the reproductive systems

Haven’t you ever wondered how the reproductive systems work… well as we all know all living things reproduce! In the human reproductive process, to kinds of gametes are involved, (gamete = wife, gametes = husband this is a cell that fuses with another gamete during fertilization) the male gametes and the female gamete, meets in the female’s reproductive system to create a new individual. Well I suppose this is information for beginners but hey not all of us knows everything, and I am also learning from stuff I read daily. So I thought that you wouldn’t mind reading this as well…. Unlike the male the female has a reproductive system located entirely in the pelvis, this just shows you that once again women are different from males, not that this is a shocker to anyone reading (ha-ha) anyway your uterus is shaped like an upside-down pear. It has a thick lining and muscular walls. Did you know that your uterus contains some of the strongest muscles in the female body? Well if not, it does, so you know now! At the upper corner of the uterus, you have fallopian tubes, which connect the uterus to the ovaries, you fallopian tubes are about 10 centimetres long and about as wide as a piece of spaghetti, within each tube is a passageway, about as wide as a sewing needle, at the other end of each fallopian tube is a fringed area that looks like a little funnel. The fringed area wraps around the ovaries but isn’t completely attached to your ovaries. When an egg comes out of an ovary, it enters the fallopian tube, in the fallopian tube, tiny hair in the tubes lining help to push the egg down the passageway towards your uterus. Now you ovaries are also part of the endocrine system because they produce hormones (Female Hormones) such as estrogen and progesterone…. Your ovaries are oval-shaped and lie to the upper right and left of the uterus, which produces, store and release eggs into your fallopian tubes when ovulation occurs. Each of your ovaries measures about 4 – 5 centimetres in a grown woman. The female reproductive system enables a woman to produce eggs, protect and nourish the fertilized egg until it is fully developed and to give birth. Now approximately once a month, during your ovulation, an ovary releases an egg into one of the fallopian tubes, unless the egg is fertilized while in the fallopian tube, the egg dries up and leaves the body about 2 weeks. The egg leaves the body through the uterus, and the process for this is called menstruation. Now I’m sure I don’t have to explain the menstruation process, because most of us just hate the thought of it, but on average the monthly cycle for an adult woman is about 28 days, but it rages from 23 to about 35 days. Well I guess that this is all I have for now, hopefully someone could benefit from the details added, if not I noted this as this is a journey I embarked on, and what ever I experience or read I want to be able to go back and read this one day. For those of you who has been following my blog, thank you for your great assistance, and I hope I have not bored you with the details of our dear female system….

Charting

Mmm, I have not been able to chat to anyone in a very long time, nor did I post any feedback or information since March, so I thought today will be a good day to start sharing again. I guess that for the time I have not been able to blog, or read anyone else’s blog, I missed out on so much information and so many frustrations, but I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll ensure that I read your blogs and get up to date on your progress as well. A word of thanks to everyone who has supported me, and contacted me while I didn’t find the time to write I have met up with a couple of ladies who is in the beginning of their TTC. Some of them have not even started but is planning to conceive, and normally I’ll get so upset and frustrated with the questions, but for some reason I feel better about my situation, I think I have made peace with the fact that not everyone has problems, and that I can’t feel angry towards them. I also found that a lot of these ladies don’t even understand their own bodies, which is the scariest thought of it all. I sometimes wonder how many women is out there who don’t understand what their bodies are telling them, maybe I would have been uneducated about my body to if it wasn’t for the fact that I battled to conceive. Who knows, but I am glad that I have read everything there could be read. I just feel that knowing my body and understanding why I experience some of the things I do, makes a bigger difference than not knowing Anyway things have been hectic on my side, and fertomid has taken over my life. Ya well, 3 months have passed and no results yet for swallowing that little pill every morning, but I’m still going strong. Haven’t been able to go for acupuncture for a while due to work and family stuff, but will start again this week, or shall I rather say, will book and see when I’ll be able to find a spot. In a previous note I have chatted a bit about ovulation, and for some reason a couple of ladies has been asking a lot of questions related to temping and charting, so I decided to get the information and add this to the blog. It makes it easier if people want to read the information. We all just have a few fertile days in each cycle. By charting our information it will allow us to pinpoint the days we can conceive, but keep in mind, that this is an indication and for some it might not be possible to conceive on their own. By charting you’ll be able to find out when you ovulate based on your temperature entered as your temperature will rise closer to ovulation, and obviously blood test could also be done to determine whether you do ovulate. You will also be able to monitor your cycle regularity. A chart provides you with the opportunity to track and document your conception journey, and you will be able to print out the information once you need to have it available for an appointment with your healthcare provider, to enable you to provide all necessary information. There are many WebPages out there which can assist you in online charting, I only used the online facilities, but soon one tend to forget to record the details and I forgot the details when I had the time to record. So I made use of a printed chart, which I record my details on, and then retyped it into my online chart, which helps me, but what ever works the best for you. You’ll quickly realise which will be the best option for yourself. A lot of these sites will also be able to calculate ovulation detection based on your fertility signs you add into the chart, it tracks your cycle and provide you the option to go back into the details to monitor things like temperature, cervical fluids, when you use tests, what type of test you have used within the timeframe, and also when you have used any assisting medication. It provides functionality to graphically see your signs and some sites provide you with the feature to plan pregnancy test dates, track any factors which influences your fertility (Such as weight) and you will be able to calculate potential due dates should you fall pregnant. Well this is only mentioning a few, you will be able to go into the sites and see which the best chart is for you. What work for one doesn’t necessarily work for everyone!

True Friends!

So many times, we sit and wonder why our road crosses with someone else’s. Today I know that I am truly blessed. One tend to forget that there are truly people out there who cares about you, even though you don’t see one another or speak to one anther very often. I truly have a special friend. We met one another through the company that we work for. We landed up at the same site as project managers. At times we felt like killing one another as we had different frustrations and view points, and at best of times we were there to support one another through very difficult times. I truly learned a lot from this person. We got moved to the same site again, after the previous assignment, but moved on to another site shortly after our move... I will always cherish the times that we had worked together. Yesterday 15 May 2008, was the crappiest day of my life. I had project issues piling up, screaming people, and hours of meetings and late night work and I truly didn’t feel up to everything. I just had it. Got to my desk, and there were a note from someone that I am not familiar with, saying that he wants to come and see me... I responded on the note... knowing that I don’t feel up to it... so I asked why? Eventually I phoned and asked why? He said, I need to bring you something... OOO! Came my response, so he brought me a little rose gift bag with a golden ribbon wrapped card... I got so excited I don’t even know whether I thanked him, started opening this gift, and to my surprise I got a Pixie. Now if you know me, you’ll all know that I collect pixies, and this is truly a stunning pair of pixies, a granny and oupa pixie, they are so sweet... I love it.... I love it... anyway, after opening the pixies I quickly turned to the card and started reading a wonderful message. A message of a guardian Angel... This really touched me in so many ways; I think I’ll never be able to express it all in words... Sabiena, you are truly an amazing friend. Thank you for all your encouragement, through better and worst times. I couldn’t have asked for a better caring person. Thank you very much for the gift, as you know, it really did brighten my day.

Fertomid - 50

Hi you all,

It’s been a while since I last posted anything on my blog, I just didn’t have the time to capture any thoughts or notes, but today I made sure that I make some time to keep you all posted.

As you know by now, our doctor has discovered that I don’t ovulate as regular as what I should. Hey there were actually something wrong with me, I now know after how many years of going through all kinds of test, but I’m not complaining, at least I know now. So on Tuesday 6 May (last week) I got my new prescription from the doctor to start using Fertomid-50. I have to use this from day 5 – 9. Well this is only 5 days, so who knows, I officially took the first tablet today 12 May 2008, and will take the last one on Friday.

Anyway, I thought I’ll give you some information of Fertomid-50, which I’m sure some of you know by now, but for those who doesn’t let me share...

Fertomid-50 is similar in composition to Clomid-50, and is prescribed for the treatment of ovulatory failure in women who wish to fall pregnant. The side effects occur infrequently and generally do not interfere with treatment.

Common side effects include:

• Abdominal discomfort
• Enlargement of ovaries
• Hot flushes

Less common side effects include:

• Abnormal uterine bleeding
• Breast tenderness
• Depression
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Headaches
• Hives
• Inability to fall or stay asleep
• Increased urination
• Inflammation of the skin
• Light-headiness
• Nausea
• Nervousness
• Ovarian cysts
• Visual disturbances
• Vomiting
• Weight gain

Once doctor will evaluate you for normal liver function and normal estrogen levels before considering you for this treatment, he will also examine you for pregnancy, ovarian enlargements or cysts formation. He will do a complete pelvic examination before each course of this medication. The treatment increases the possibility of multiple births. Also birth defects have been reported following treatment to induce ovulation, although no direct effects of the drug on the unborn child have been established.

Ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (or OHSS, enlargement of the ovary) has occurred in women receiving treatment. OHSS may progress rapidly and become serious. The early warning signs are severe pelvic pain, nausea, vomiting, and weight gain. Symptoms include abdominal pain, abdominal enlargement, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight gain, difficult or labored breathing, and less urine production. If you experience any of these warning signs or symptoms, notify your doctor immediately. The recommended dosage for the first course of treatment is 50 milligrams (1 tablet) daily for 5 days. If ovulation does not appear to have occurred, your doctor may try up to 2 more times.